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Militants Threaten to Kill Kidnapped Monitor Reporter (LAT)
An Arab television channel ran a video yesterday showing kidnapped journalist Jill Carroll with the message from her unnamed captors that she would be killed unless the United States freed all female prisoners in Iraq within 72 hours. NYT: The tape showed Carroll speaking against a white background, but there was no sound. CSM: Carroll's father issued the following statement: "Jill is an innocent journalist and we respectfully ask that you please show her mercy and allow her to return home to her mother, sister and family..."

Google Will Buy Radio Ad Sales Unit (NYT)
Google said yesterday that it would spend up to $1.24 billion to buy dMarc Broadcasting, whose software allows marketers to send advertisements directly to local radio stations. NYP: The deal confirmed that the online search giant intends to move beyond Internet ads and become a one-stop shop for advertisers.

Risen Gave Times NDA on Wiretap Story (NYO)
New York Times editors published reporter James Risen's December account of National Security Agency wiretapping without having seen the manuscript of Mr. Risen's book on the same subject, according to multiple sources.

Malcolm in the Middle Cancelled (Mediaweek)
Fox is cancelling sitcom Malcolm in the Middle after seven seasons. The show will air its final episode on Sunday, May 14, which will be its 150th episode. Malcolm premiered on Jan. 9, 2000, and was a hit show for several seasons in the network's Sunday night timeslot.

CNN Hires Conservative Talk Host Beck (Variety)
CNN's Headline News has signed conservative radio host Glenn Beck for an hourlong talkshow in hopes of building on the ratings momentum generated by a revamped primetime lineup anchored by Nancy Grace.

CBS Ready to Debut 'Micro-Series' (AP via WaPo)
Continuing the evolution of television marketing, CBS said Tuesday that it will broadcast a "micro-series" in seven installments of a minute or less, and will also make it available online and by cell phone.

VNU to Buy Stake in Web Search Firm (LAT)
Dutch publisher VNU said Tuesday that it would take a majority stake in Internet research firm BuzzMetrics Inc. The announcement came a day after VNU received a takeover bid worth as much as $8.87 billion from a group of private equity firms. Mediaweek: The deal extends VNU's media measurement capabilities into the consumer-generated media such as blogs and public message boards.

On-Demand TV to Include Embedded Advertising (NYT)
Comcast plans to introduce a video-on-demand channel today that will include advertising embedded in the programming. The new channel, to be called Exercise TV, is the latest attempt by cable companies to generate revenue from on-demand programming.

Clear Channel Launches Hispanic Radio Network (San Antonio Express-News)
The broadcaster has launched the La Preciosa Network, featuring legendary radio and television personality Victor Manuel Lujan. The move is in response to demand for Spanish-language radio, which has seen its ratings skyrocket to record levels in recent years.

Harvard Names Shorenstein Fellows (Boston Globe)
Charles Lewis, president of the Fund for Independence in Journalism and founder of the Center for Public Integrity, and Daniel Okrent, the first public editor for The New York Times, are among the spring fellows at Harvard University's Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy.

Only TimesSelect Subscribers Allowed to Email Paper's Columnists (E&P)
Since The New York Times put the words of its eight Op-Ed columnists behind a paid wall last September, it has also decided that only TimesSelect subscribers should be allowed to e-mail Paul Krugman, Maureen Dowd, David Brooks, et al.

Where Have All the Cowboys Gone? (Marketwatch)
Jon Friedman: Walter Cronkite had charisma, in his folksy, quiet way. Over the years, though, American network newscasters have largely become studied, cautious—and, especially, bland. Most of the anchors seem to have come from central casting.

Brown on Break, Galotti Fighting Fires (NYP)
With a deadline fast approaching for her bio on Princess Diana, Tina Brown has decided to temporarily drop her Washington Post column. And Ron "Mr. Big" Galotti, her one-time business partner, is now Firefighter Galotti, in the volunteer fire department of North Pomfret, Vt.

Can Murdoch Win on the Web? (BusinessWeek)
News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch is mulling a plan that would push DirecTV into broadband. The service would let DirecTV sell high-speed Internet access and Web-based phone service alongside satellite TV, putting DirecTV on equal footing with rivals.

James Frey and WMD (NYO)
Tom Scocca: The argument for A Million Little Pieces is identical in structure to the argument for the Iraq War: Because of my project, countless [addicts/Iraqis] now know unimagined [inspiration/liberty]—what kind of person would want to take that away by niggling about details? NYO: "[The book] was never once discussed as fiction by me or anyone in my office," said publisher Nan Talese. The Onion: More notable embellishments from Frey's memoir.

MPA May Have Smelly Connection to Abramoff (MIN)
The Magazine Publishers of America hired fallen lobbyist Jack Abramoff's firm, Preston Gates Ellis & Rouvelas Meeds LLP, in 2000 to fight the then-proposed 15 percent postal increase.

Empirical News (VV)
Syd Schanberg: The proverbial man in the street can draw no other conclusion: The clandestine Bush administration is so afraid of letting the public see what it's doing that it has denied the president himself all access to outside information except for the sports pages and religious news.

Children's Author and Book Editor Philip Ressner Dies (NYT)
Ressner worked as a subway motorman before he broke into editing. In 1965 he published the first of his books for very young readers, August Explains (Harper & Row), the tale of a wise old bear who is very good at magic.

—David S. Hirschman